Risk factors and strategies for relapse prevention among individuals living with serious mental illness in South Africa: Qualitative inquiry from patients’ and caregivers’ perspectives
| dc.contributor.author | Protas, Joyce | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-10-28T13:03:29Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-10-28T13:03:29Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-08-22 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Introduction Relapse among individuals with serious mental illnesses in resource-limited contexts, including South Africa, is a significant concern. To date, the risks for relapse among this population is well documented, but little is known about prevention strategies to reduce its occurrence in these resource-limited settings. Therefore, this qualitative study explores the risk factors and strategies for relapse prevention from the patients’ and caregivers’ perspectives. Methods We conducted audio-recorded face-to-face in-depth interviews to capture the lived experience of relapse of inpatient study participants with serious mental illness (N = 24) at a public specialized psychiatry hospital in South Africa and their caregivers (N = 6). We conducted an inductive thematic analysis with two pre-specified themes (risk factors for relapse and strategies for prevention), with the codes devised from the data. Results Six sub-themes were identified from the analysis within the two pre-specified themes(Risk factors and strategies for relapse prevention): personal-related, family-related, and health system-related risk factors and strategies for preventing relapse, respectively. To highlight some essential findings, the importance of motivation for drug adherence, family involvement, and availability of anti-psychotic drugs in public health care were noted. More importantly, this study identified important cultural complexities where traditional healers play a significant role in some cultural understanding and treatment of mental illness, affecting medication adherence. Conclusion This study calls for people-centered mental health care delivery in a public health system that listens to the voice of concern, including cultural challenges, and implements meaningful support that matters most to the patient and their family/caregivers. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Mlay, J.P., Naidu, T., Ramlall, S., Mhlungu, S.S., Zondi, M., Lessells, R., Manuel, J.I. and Tomita, A., 2024. Risk factors and strategies for relapse prevention among individuals living with serious mental illness in South Africa: Qualitative inquiry from patients’ and caregivers’ perspectives. PLoS One, 19(8), p.e0309238. | |
| dc.identifier.issn | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309238 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://kuir.ku.ac.tz:4000/handle/123456789/1596 | |
| dc.publisher | PLoS One | |
| dc.subject | Risk factors | |
| dc.subject | Serious mental illness | |
| dc.subject | South Africa | |
| dc.title | Risk factors and strategies for relapse prevention among individuals living with serious mental illness in South Africa: Qualitative inquiry from patients’ and caregivers’ perspectives | |
| dc.type | Article |